The Lake at Tachmoore
by Raicathre
Summary: When the Doctor and Rose are placed under arrest and are forced to take a bent cop on a maiden voyage to a mystery location, Rose encounters an alluring lake, and its inhabitents...My first story, review if you feel like it...
1. The Bent Cop arrives

The Lake at Tachmoore

"Seriously, Mum, I'm only going to another galaxy and back, nothing dangerous. The Doctor wants to show me some sort of crab nebula…It's going to be fine. Remember what I told you? Ten seconds."

Pleading with her mother was beginning to get progressively tedious. Rose Tyler had done it time and time again. It was like the goodbye ritual. It always happened.

"I know, Rose, but every time I let you walk away from me and go off with that Doctor fella, somethin' awful happens, and you're in danger all over again." Jackie replied, her mascara collecting on the ends of her eyelashes.

"Oh, Mum. He's promised you he'd take care of me, and I've done fine so far, haven't I?" Rose decided that she'd be here all day, doing nothing, if she let her mother win.

"Right, Mum, I'm off, I'll be back in ten seconds!" Rose shouted the last words in the sentence as she took a short run across the balcony and flew down the stairs.

She let all of the rough surroundings that lay to her side melt away as she almost hit the door of the Tardis. _I'll never get tired of this big, blue box! _She thought as she grabbed the handle and flung the whole door open, endangering the hinges of breaking.

A smile was already across her face, that kind of excited smile that a small child would give when they received a puppy for Christmas, and she waited for the Doctor to jump down from high above her, or call to her from below the grating under her feet.

He was nowhere in sight. _Don't worry, this place is bigger than St. Paul's, he's probably pottering about somewhere…_Rose told herself.

Still, she would wait. Seeking him out would only get her lost or embarrassed.

She sat herself down on the floor with her arms and legs crossed. _Let's hope he trips over me, and then I'll tell him how clumsy he is, that'll teach him to hide from Rose Tyler! _She smiled to herself, proud of her little plan.

…………………………………………

Rose checked her Timex watch again. It had been nearly four minutes now. She had never known him to take so long to find out she was in the Tardis. He was always here…

"For God's sake, it's like I'm waiting for Death himself to take me away!" she said aloud, hopefully loud enough for him to hear her.

Rose waited and sat there, occasionally shifting about, but she stayed resilient. Never giving in, that was the way to live life. She was sure that was how the Doctor lived as well.

Then again, he had broken probably all three of the rules that the Time Lords set, the ones everyone was supposed to abide by.

Everyone except him.

"This is stupid. He's deliberately ignoring me. Well, I'm not going to let some pretty boy Lord of Time beat me at my own game! Did you hear that!" Rose shouted. She then began to laugh. She'd never poke fun at the Doctor deliberately. He was too clever for that.

"Do I have to come and get you!" she yelled again. The only reply she received was the echo of her own question, bouncing back from the walls of the Tardis.

She moaned in a very loud and exaggerated way. "Good God! Will you please hurry up! I'm getting bored!" she screamed one more time.

_He's not here…_she said to herself.

"I'm going back home then! You're actually not in…bugger me!" she turned and faced to door for a moment, when she felt and heard to presence of someone behind her.

"Not today, thank you."

A sly smile spread across her face and she bowed her head, trying to stifle laughs. She spun round, anticipating that cheeky smile of his that he constantly wore. There was something about his voice, though, that suggested a different kind of mood.

She was not met with a grin, as she wanted to be, but with a solemn and tired expression instead.

The Doctor was in a state, to say the least. His hair was the same, though Rose could never say it was neat in the first place. His suit was covered in dark red patches and so was his light brown coat.

"You been working on some great dirty machinery then? Radio turned up? Is that why you couldn't hear me? You've got rust all over you!" Rose exclaimed.

She moved towards him quickly and made to brush the rust from his clothing. He didn't move or retaliate as she tried to brush off the red stains.

"You've been painting yourself? I never knew you had an art department…ours at school was a tip. Paintbrushes and pots everywhere!" she smiled weakly, willing a reaction from the Doctor.

"You're not a clone are you? A robot? A shape shifter? 'Cause you, _sir,_ are not the Doctor." She poked him in the chest and he didn't even slap her hand away.

"You think you can scare me with your zombie impressions? Think again, mister!" she laughed, "No seriously, what's wrong? Do you want to come over and get cleaned up? Mum would _love _to wash your jacket, trust me on this." She suddenly doubled over and cried tears of laughter. "Trust me on this! Oh my God, that never gets old!"

"I can't take it anymore, Rose." The Doctor said to her.

"You can't take what? My jokes? Sorry, but they're stayin'!" she sighed an after-laugh sigh and stood up straight again.

"No, Rose. It's not your jokes. It's nothing to do with you at all. It's about…everything. Everything I've lived through." He replied, his voice quivering and almost at a whisper.

"You're not jokin' are ya? What's up? You know everything bad that has every happened to us wasn't your fault. I know that." She said reassuringly. It didn't seem to help much though; he turned around completely and muttered, mumbling about something.

"That's the problem. You are always there to see my mistakes. It didn't matter if I messed up before. Then I met you and I had to raise my standards."

Rose raised her eyebrows. This was certainly something new. She sighed and walked around him and jumped in front of him.

"Don't be silly! You sound like a silly little kid. You know everybody messes up! To make mistakes is human…er…well, it still counts doesn't it?" she said, wobbling slightly on the spot.

He smiled and breathed out with a weak little laugh.

"See? You're fine aren't ya?" She said, lightly tapping him on the shoulder.

Rose moved away from him, and leaned over the Tardis controls. "Where are we going to today? You told me we could go and see a crab nebula, whatever that is!" she declared with a stern but friendly voice.

"I think I'll take up that offer from your Mum, the one in which she washes my jacket? Do you have a washing machine? Course you have, everyone does!" he announced and took a few leaps towards the door. As his hand reached for the handle however, someone decided that they wanted to come in and maybe do the washing for the Doctor on location.

"Hello, what's this all about?" he said loudly as four police officers barged through the door and spread in and around the Tardis. One officer made to grab Rose, but she slipped away from his advance and placed herself firmly behind the Doctor.

A tall, high-ranking policeman suddenly stepped over the threshold and looked about at the place as if he was called to clear out some rats from a sewer. He was clearly not amused, and his thinning, ginger hair was clearly doing nothing for his looks either.

He glanced about for the supposed proprietor of the room he was in, which he could have sworn looked much smaller on the outside, and leaned over the Doctor.

"You the holder of this…er…abode?" he asked with a strong and common London accent.

"Indeed I am, yes, very much so. I'm quite proud of my…er…abode!" the Doctor replied, with a strong sense of self-consciousness.

"I can see your head swelling, Doctor." Rose said with her eyes rolling.

"Well, I have to address the man correctly, my dear Rose." The Doctor said with a very serious expression. Whenever he did this sort of thing though, Rose knew that he was only being sarcastic, for her sake. He lightened the mood for her to feel more…what did she feel? Safe? She never felt safe, not with someone like the Doctor around. He was a danger magnet.

Her feelings were suddenly swept to one side when her hands were suddenly pulled behind her back and she felt cold metal bite into her wrists.

"Wait a second there…" the Doctor said, eyeing Rose struggling against the officer behind her, though not moving from the spot.

"You and your girlfriend are under arrest." The tall officer said icily, inches from the Doctor's nose.

"Well…could I ask why?" the Doctor said, squinting up at his arrester.

"Not just yet." The officer said simply.

His arm drew back and the Doctor looked on as his hand curled into a ball. The man's fist collided with the Doctor's jaw and sent him to the ground.

The Doctor took a few deep breaths through his teeth and slowly got up.

"Please don't do that again." He said, his eyebrows meeting in a frown.

"Or what? You going to hit me back? Hey guys, the pretty boy is going to hit me!" the tall officer sneered. The other four policemen gave feeble laughs.

"Maybe I will, and maybe I won't, I'd just like to know one thing. What am I under arrest for?" said the Doctor. The urge to rub his chin where he had been hit was inexplicably tempting, but he didn't want to let the tall officer know that.

"I have permission, to not tell you my good lad." Replied the officer, drawing up to his full height.

"Less of the "lad" now, thank you, _son_." The Doctor retorted, jabbing the officer in the chest.

In response, the Doctor received another hit from the back of the officer's hand. He was on the floor again, but almost jumped to his feet this time.

"Are you actually asking for it, my good man?" he shouted at the officer, raising his hands and dancing on the spot.

"Officer Frasier, are you going to put cuffs on him, or are you going to let him dance beside you as we escort them to the station?" added one of the policemen. He was young and fresh from the academy; it was obvious by his mannerism. His hair was a mousy brown, and as Rose turned her head to look at him, it reminded her of the Doctor's untidy mess that grew on top of his head.

"Shut up, Rookie, I know what I'm doing, I just want to teach this creep a lesson, watch and learn." Said Frasier and a demonic grin spread across his face. Rose didn't like the look of the whole setup.

She wanted to warn the Doctor, tell him to stop provoking Frasier's rage, but a hand was clapped over her mouth as soon as she opened it.

"Now, my imitative little mate, I'd like to introduce you to something." Frasier hissed.

"And what is that?" said the Doctor, his tone dripping with sarcasm.

"Pain." whispered Frasier.

The next ten seconds seemed like ten years for Rose. All she could do was look on with stinging eyes as Frasier hit the Doctor once again, sending him spinning to the ground. It was like a metal bar was suddenly pushed through her stomach at high speed. She could feel every cold movement of the bar being forced through her, every twist and turn as it was wrenched into different positions inside her body.

Frasier grasped the Doctor firmly by his collar and dragged him to his feet again.

"Where's your friend now eh? Where's sarcasm when you need it? Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit, and you, are lacking in brain cells." He snapped and almost brought the Doctor closer to his clenched fist as another blow was taken on the Doctor's Lower jaw.

The Doctor was down again, and it was taking longer and longer for him to stand up.

Rose wanted to scream, to shout, to wriggle from the stronger man gripping her tightly, anything but watch and do nothing. What kind of a friend does something like that?

She suddenly went limp in the policeman's arms and started to babble to herself quietly.

"Officer Frasier, sir, this girl has er…fallen on me…what should I do, Sir?" said the slightly taken-aback policeman holding her.

"Drop her, she's not very important." Replied Frasier, his eyes still fixed on the Doctor.

Rose was dropped like a hot potato and lay sprawled on the floor for a few seconds, just to make sure they all though she was genuine. After a couple of painstaking seconds, she picked herself up and sped towards the Doctor, placing herself in front of him.

"Is the girly going to protect her gallant knight now eh? This just gets better and better." Frasier snapped.

"You wouldn't hit a woman now would ya?" said Rose, a smirk spreading across her face.

"On the contrary my girl, I hit all sorts of people." The reply was harsh and Frasier's own little smirk was crooked.

"You're bloody sick!" Rose shouted. She felt like hitting him back, but she knew it wouldn't help anybody.

She turned to see the Doctor almost looming over her behind her back. He had a bloody cut over his eyebrow and a trickle of blood ran from his mouth and occasionally dripped from his chin.

She wanted to grab him and hold him tight. He was always such a father figure to her, but this time she wanted to act the like mother comforting her child.

"Thank you, I do try." Frasier added with a glare. He pushed Rose out of the way and grabbed the Doctor by his tie. He kicked the door to the Tardis, to the outside, open and scraped his heavy boot against the back of the Doctor's knee, forcing him down and out onto the dirty ground.

Rose choked back the tears and made a vain attempt to bring Frasier down. She grabbed him by the shoulders, her hands were still cuffed, her weak attack was useless and he twisted away from her, bringing his elbow down upon her shoulder blades, causing her to cry out in pain.

It was as if the Doctor had heard her call. He picked himself up and almost dragged himself to stand in front of Frasier.

Frasier pulled out his gun from its holster and brought it to rest on the Doctor's forehead.

"Gonna shoot me, Officer?" the Doctor whispered.

"If I have to." Sneered Frasier, his lips pulled back to reveal his teeth.

"With the entire public watching? I doubt you'd get very good references for your next job if you kill me out here." The Doctor said, regaining some of his old tone of voice.

"Just, don't say anything anymore. Don't speak until I say so, or I'll pull this trigger, understand?" Frasier said, pushing the Doctor backwards.

There were the beginnings of a huge, action-hungry crowd standing near the scene; each one of them had a serious look upon their face.

"The terrorists have been subdued!" Frasier shouted to the growing crowd, "Bring the girl out here." He said more quietly to one of his men.

Rose was pushed out of the Tardis and deliberately ran into the Doctor's arms. He grabbed her and spun her round, Rose's face was buried deep in his coat, and he could feel her tears soaking through it.

"Enough emotion now, break it up." Said Frasier, he was now threatening them both with his gun.

Rose let go of the Doctor and wiped her tears away with her sleeve. She knew her make-up had smudged, but that didn't matter anymore. Nothing mattered. A policeman grabbed her again and forced her to her knees. Her head was down and she was staring at the ground, subduing to all the rough treatment she was receiving.

"Try and guess what happens to pretty little girls who get involved with the wrong crowd?" said Frasier, his voice dipped in poison. He gave an icy glare to the Doctor, who looked away.

"They end up hurt, a shame eh?" he finished.

"We were fine before you barged in…" Rose dared to croak.

"Oh, really? What were you stashing in that disappearing box? I know all about it thanks to a witness. Don't think we aren't watching you two. Disappearing off and flying to some secret terrorist base…" declared Frasier, pointing the gun at Rose, who was shivering with the cold biting of the air.

"We're not terrorists." Stated the Doctor, his face serious. He went to pick up Rose from the ground, but his eyes met as they stared down the barrel of Frasier's gun.

"Stand down, you are a minor, don't try and help your friend. Help her and I shoot you, understand?" Frasier said again. The Doctor somehow knew he was bluffing.

The crowd were restless and were itching for a bit of action, or even some sort of involvement with this strange event. They all climbed over each other to reach the front and shouted at each other to get out of the way.

The Doctor smirked and took centre stage. "People. You're brilliant, but so stupid! For God's sake, Officer, get a grip! You want to see my terrorist machine work? I'll invite you inside and show you."

"That's them! They're the ones!" there came a sudden, sharp voice from the crowd. A young man pushed himself to the front of the crowd. He was blonde and he had very boyish features.

"Oh my God…Jake?" Rose said, as she lifted her head up to look at the man approaching them.

"Ah, here's the one who, "turned you in" if you like. He's been watching you for me, kind of him hmm?" Frasier told them.

"Jake? You wouldn't…you helped us…" Rose said to the boy.

"Rose, that was a different dimension-er, place. This is a different person…not necessarily a nice one either…" the Doctor muttered to her.

"You know my name? You been stalking me too? Officer, these two know who I am, a sure sign that they are the enemy!" yelled Jake, pointing an accusing finger at Rose.

"Oh dear, the odds really are against you today…Doctor? I'll take up that invitation, show me your machine. Take us somewhere…unbelievable…" Frasier declared with a grin.

"Take us somewhere where the law isn't messed up!" shouted Rose, getting up and taking a step towards Frasier.

Frasier ignored her and leapt into the Tardis, his men following, Jake even invited himself in, trotting through the door, a winning smile on his face. Rose and the Doctor stared at each other for a moment. Rose found that urge to embrace him again emerge, but she resisted. Just looking into his solemn hazel eyes made her wish to cry all over him, because of him.

She re-entered the Tardis instead, but waited inside for the Doctor. When he emerged through the door, he was immediately thrown to the floor and cuffed.

"How am I supposed to work my "machine" now eh?" he laughed.

"Your girlfriend is going to do it for us." Frasier wore a gleaming grin across his face. It seemed all he wanted was to make the situation more difficult.

There came the sound of dripping water all of a sudden, and Rose quickly spun around to locate the source of the sound. Her eyes scanned all four policemen, including the one nicknamed "Rookie" and even dared to look at Frasier. Her eyes finally rested upon the Doctor, who was desperately trying to conceal his wrists under his sleeves.

Frasier must have spotted Rose staring at him and he made a bee-line towards the Doctor.

"Show me your hands." He commanded.

The doctor held up his arms and Frasier almost looked stunned.

"Look, what your cuffs have done, put them on too tight. Cut into me, the pain…" said the Doctor, his sarcasm swiftly covering up for him.

"No, the cuffs didn't do that. There are three long scratches here, the cuffs would only cause one if they were on too tight. Mental note Rookie, he's a self-harmer, could be dangerous." Frasier analysed, stroking his chin like a Disney villain.

Rose saw the pool of blood on the floor before the Doctor grow with each drop, expanding it and it finally began to run down through the grating. She finally discovered why his coat was covered in red patches. It was blood she had tried to brush off before all of this happened. This was why he seemed so depressed and put down when she first greeted him. How much blood had he lost whilst he was here, all alone? Whilst she thought about it, Rose answered all of her queries that spun through her head. Why he couldn't fight back, why he was so pale, he can't have surely lost about a pint of the stuff, and all that time she had been arguing with her Mum. She could have got here earlier. She should have looked for him instead of waiting and cursing about his lateness. Apologies began to weave into words in her head. All those things she wanted to say sorry for. It was too late now. All she could do was to make do with thoughts about the now, where a man called Frasier ruled and dominated even his own men. He had invaded the Doctor's territory, and she hadn't stood up and done something. The Doctor was too unwell to stop him, and she never interfered. What was wrong with her?

Frasier made a sweeping indication towards the controls. It was as if he were a gentleman, asking a lady to dance. _He's no bloody gentlemen, he's a monster_, Rose heard herself say. She slowly trod the path that lead to the controls, and everyone's fate. It was like the entire world lay on her shoulders, she could either shake it off, or continue to resist its weight and let it rest there.

She could feel everyone's eyes on her, but the one pair that burned into her the most, were the Doctor's. She fought his gaze by trying not to look at him, and she placed herself where she wouldn't have to see him.

"Where to?" she asked Frasier. She hated being in charge of things like this.

"I say, to your secret base." Frasier said, a sparkle of _I've got them now_ in his eyes.

_Play along, for God's sake. Don't lose it. _Rose told herself. She couldn't help it; she had to look at him for directions. She turned her head to gaze at him, asking silently for an answer, but he wasn't even looking at her now. A small squeak that may have given way to tears was all she could say. She disguised it as a cough and looked longingly at the console. She tried willing it to show her the way. It seemed even the Tardis didn't want to talk to her anymore. The other half of the Doctor, off-limits to her as well.


	2. A rough kind of journey

Thank you very much for the few but positive reviews that I gained for the last chapter! Here's your second instalment, but I don't like it. It's badly written in my point of view, tell me what you all think though! I forgot to introduce my story last chapter. I think that was a risky move, as there is a lot of material in here that I should have warned you all about. It's in the "T" ratings, so I think I'm safe so far!

**Disclaimer: **Because I missed it out last time, it's here…I don't own Doctor Who, but all the characters and locations whom you don't recognise belong to me, as does the plot:D Though if I had the power to claim it, I would take the Doctor for myself, MUHAHAHA! cough

Anyways, enjoy this chapter; I'm sure the next one will be up in at least a week's time!

The Lake at Tachmoore

Rose's hand wavered over all of the controls in turn. Which one did what? This was stupid. The Doctor was the Timelord, not her. Why should she have to play the part of the leader now? Maybe she should demand the Doctor to do it, tell Frasier that she was weak and couldn't do it for herself…No.

She had to battle on, Doctor or no Doctor. For once, she wanted to feel dependant on only herself. She didn't want the Doctor to arrive and fix her mistakes, she wanted to show him she wasn't just a screaming blonde like the ones in the movies she watched so often back home. Those blondes were just there to act stupidly, panic at the smallest thing and screech at any given moment. She didn't want the Doctor to think of her as Willie Scott from Indiana Jones.

New goal set into her mind, Rose got to work. It wasn't actually work, more like what she was doing was _working_.

She jabbed a few buttons, pulled a couple of levers and sometimes did both at the same time. She copied the way he did it…it was like an art to him, everything felt clumsy in her hands, they shook and fumbled for new combinations.

Rose tried and tried again to regain eye contact with the Doctor, but it seemed he had disappeared altogether. Frasier gave a grin and Rose swore she could see horns growing from his dislikeable head.

Jake was shifting from one foot to the other next to Rookie. He was probably eager to be inside the Tardis when it vanished, instead of watching from afar.

Rookie on the other hand, looked almost impatient. He swung his arms in unison, he leaned against all manner of things, including Jake and had a very bored expression on his face. No look of curiosity or intrigue. It was as if he was in these kinds of places all the time.

Rose eyed him for a second, what she hoped was a suspicious expression on her face. Rookie looked up just as she didn't want him to, he winked at her and must have made a growl under his breath, because Jake suddenly whipped around and stared at him.

Rose rolled her eyes. _Great, now the horrible, yet attractive, policeman with a name that sounds like a rock band is checking me out, exactly what I need…bloody hell…_thoughts and images suddenly ran through her head. She'd end up liking him, no loving him, and then…she shut the thoughts out. She couldn't be distracted…not even by good-looking policemen…everybody likes a good-looking policeman…No, she couldn't afford slip-ups.

Rose wanted to desperately call to the Doctor for help, but there was nothing he would be able to do, Frasier was probably sitting on him or something.

Rose took a deep breath and pulled the final lever. She silently wished she messed it up and got it all wrong, then the Doctor would put it right. He'd take them somewhere that they could use to their advantage.

Rose had no idea where she would be leading everyone to. She could land the Tardis anywhere, the middle of a volcano, a glacier, a black hole. She shook the memories reawakening in her mind and prayed. She prayed for him to help her.

She sighed and closed her eyes, wishing that she couldn't hear the sound of the thundering hum, the scraping sound of the Time Rotor and the rolling growl that she knew all too well.

"And we're off…" Frasier murmured, his lips curled into a sly smile, "Let the Doctor go, there's nowhere he can run if we're moving."

The Doctor breathed a sigh of relief as he was released from the metal cuffs, slicing into the cuts on his wrists.

"Cheers for that chaps, so Rose, where exactly are we going?" he said, his voice suddenly filled with cheer and humour.

Rose gave a weak shrug and made a face that told the Doctor, "God knows," in her own language.

He gave a strained smile and his eyebrows were raised in a "thanks a bunch" way, there was something that only Rose could do…she could read his expressions like a book.

"Who's for tea?" the Doctor offered. Frasier was having none of it though, he made straight for the Doctor and grabbed his tie again, this time yanking it down, forcing the Doctor to bend over.

"All this physical assault, it's so tiring, are you bored yet? I am…" the Doctor retorted, cocking his head slightly to get a better look at Frasier.

"Do I have to hit you again, or would you prefer me to shoot you? I'd get your girlfriend dirty, but alls well that ends well in my case!" Frasier almost shouted at him.

"Stop it! Stop it now!" Rose shouted. Her voice must have sounded so stupid, so trivial. She had no command over Frasier anymore than she ruled over the Tardis.

Frasier looked at her. He gave her such a stare it caused the hairs on the back of her neck to rise and a shiver to run down her spine like a droplet of blood.

He let go of the Doctor and his victim collapsed onto the floor, drawing breath heavily.

Frasier had an expression on his face that would make a dalek run for cover.

He grasped the Doctor's hair and pulled on it hard, dragging him to his feet again.

"These will leave some fine scars," he told him, grabbing at his wrist and staring at it like a delinquent.

"Let go of Me." the Doctor hissed.

Frasier twisted his wrist and deliberately scratched his fingernails along the gashes that had half-healed, ripping open the skin again.

"Do you want me to rip these scabs off you one by one, Doctor? 'Cause I bloody well will!"

The Doctor seemed close to tears, but he choked them back. He tried to pull away, but Frasier's grip stayed fast.

Rose slammed her eyes shut and squeezed them so hard it hurt, _stop it, leave him alone, _she heard her own memories screaming.

She re-opened her eyes and it was as if time had never passed.

The doctor was slowly sinking to his knees again with the pain shooting through his arm. She could see the blood all over Frasier's hands, his fingernails digging into the open wounds.

Her sight blurred by her own tears, she looked around for anybody, Jake, and he was enjoying the show, an evil smile across his face. Rookie, where was he? He was the nearest to her of all of them, though he looked almost as panic-stricken as she felt inside.

She rushed over to him and almost fell at his feet.

"Help me, Rookie, please!" she yelled, before sobbing into his shoulder.

"Er, Sir? Don't you think he has had enough? We do need him in one piece after all…and his life is no concern of yours, he can do what he wants with it and he doesn't need you telling him right from wrong…" Rookie started shakily. He took the handcuffs off Rose's wrists and she rubbed them, waiting for the feeling in her hands to return.

Frasier dropped the Doctor's arm and his face lit up with an eerie grin as he approached Rookie, who pushed Rose away from him.

Rose blinked and regained her vision. The last person she even thought of looking at was Frasier, whereas the first, was the Doctor.

He was a quivering wreck lying upon the floor. Her tears came back in floods and she ran to his side.

The only way that she could see that would help her to pick him up, without hurting him, would have been his wrists.

She moved closer and lightly brushed his arm with her fingertips. He recoiled suddenly like a startled animal.

Rose quickly grabbed his arms and lifted him up. After what seemed like an age trying different ways to help him find his feet, she managed to make him stand.

He looked at her with his hazel eyes, though they were now bloodshot and half-closed. She wrapped her arms around his middle and he laid his head over her shoulder. She could feel the blood seeping through her clothes, making them heavier and dirty. She shut out the jolting motion of the Tardis, the shouting and the screaming. Everything around her seemed to disappear as she stood there with the Doctor, with her Doctor.

She hated Frasier for what he had done to him, but did she hate the Doctor for what he had done to himself? Thoughts ran through her head and she held the Doctor tighter and closer, trying to use his warmth to protect her from them.

"I'm so sorry, Rose…If you weren't here, you wouldn't have to go through this, and I know you hate it." He said to her, his voice shaking and quiet.

"If I wasn't here, Frasier would have killed you…there would be no-one here to help you out. I'm glad I came." Rose replied, her voice sounding as quiet as the Doctor's.

She could hear Frasier bellowing at Rookie, and she felt even worse. She pleaded with him to help, and now that he had, he was feeling the wrath of his superior.

"If I wanted your opinion, I would have asked for it! Do you want to play the bad guy? These two are trouble! Look at where you are! Have you ever seen something as foreign as this? You honestly think that people, who live in this machine, are good people!" Frasier spat at Rookie.

Rookie took a few steps backwards and almost stood on Jake's foot.

"No sir, I completely understand, they are the enemy…" he left his sentence hanging and hoped that it would go through Frasier's hard drive and filter through into the "accepted messages" pile.

"Good, if I hear so much as a squeak outta you ever again, I'll throw you out of this machine and out onto a planet or whatever is out there." Frasier hissed through his teeth, inches from Rookie's face.

"That's space out there." The Doctor told them. He let go of Rose roughly and stepped up to the controls. _Why are you still being friendly with Frasier? Do you want to be his acquaintance? Don't talk to him anymore. _Rose told the Doctor silently. She knew he couldn't hear her.

The jolting and shaking of the Tardis continued and occasionally worsened, causing everyone to grab the nearest person for support.

Frasier kept a beady eye fixed on the Doctor; the Doctor never averted his gaze from the time rotor, he spun on his heel suddenly and addressed Rose casually for the first time in a while.

"Did you put the Tardis on autopilot? You did didn't you? Never, ever do that again, we could land anywhere, I _always_ fly manual…we're on a blind course now…" the Doctor said, skipping around the console, tapping at buttons and panels.

"Can't you put it back?" Rose asked, she hoped he wasn't going to become angry at her.

"Who cares? I just want to see how this thing works. We can just travel back if we land in a hostile area!" Frasier said in an attempt at humour. The four men that were spread around the room shot knowing glances at each other. They had all been so silent throughout the whole thing. Taking orders were they were needed, doing things where they were required. They reminded Rose of the worst type of slaves, the type that didn't know their own rights.

"We can't just leave again, it doesn't work like that." said the Doctor. He placed himself directly in front of Frasier, his head craned up and his eyes filled with sternness.

"I'll just have to order you to then, and threaten your pretty little girl again; you don't want me to hit her do you?" Frasier sneered, his voice cold.

The doctor dropped his head and muttered something that sounded to Rose like a solemn "no."

"There's a good lad. I'd like to take a moment to say to you two, don't cross me. You've seen and probably felt what I can do. Never try to give me orders, I won't listen. I do things my way, and my way only. I have claimed this ground, this is mine," he shouted, spinning in a circle, his arms outstretched, "all of it."

There was a ground-shattering crash and everyone was thrown roughly to the ground. The Doctor snatched at a supporting beam in the nick of time, but the rest ended up sprawled on the floor.

"The eagle has landed…" whispered Frasier, an eerie waver in his voice.

"Nobody moves from this spot, I'm going to-"

"You're going nowhere, pretty boy, if anybody is going to check anything out, it'll be Blondie and Simm. Get to it lads." Frasier stopped the Doctor sharp in his tracks, and nodded his head at Jake and Simm.

Simm was a rather ordinary looking man. He had no distinguishing features either. He was just normal, which was a lot less than what Rose could say about the Doctor.

Jake gave an exaggerated salute and promptly opened the door to the outside. Light suddenly bathed the whole room and Rose was forced to close her eyes and look at everything through her eyelashes. Simm gave a quick, dull, acknowledging look to Frasier and stepped outside, Jake in hot pursuit. The door closed and the light was gone. The green glow from the console and the time rotor was all that was left.

"Where are we?" Frasier demanded, turning on the Doctor once again.

"If you had let me take a look, then maybe I could tell you, but alas, it seems you have to wait like the rest of us." The Doctor retorted and he walked away, not waiting for a smart reply from Frasier this time.

Rose watched Frasier's face turn from a calm anger to enraged loathing and she saw him reach for his gun. She suddenly decided that she should quickly contribute to the Doctor's defence.

"Shoot first, ask questions later, is it, Officer?" she stated with a sweet and innocent smile.

She seemed to have foiled his plan for now, he gave her a look that could kill and let his arm drop by his side. She gave a grin and turned to the Doctor, but he wasn't looking at her. He had missed it, again.

Rose knew that, for the moment, he was out of her reach. She had a sudden epiphany.

"Officer, don't you think the Doctor needs to get cleaned up? You don't want blood all over your new "domain", do you?" she dared and she shut her eyes before the answer came, in case he struck her.

"Get the bastard cleaned then, I'm tired of his company anyway. Take the smartass to the medical bay or whatever you call it. You have five minutes." Frasier said without looking at her.

She wanted to jump and whoop, but she knew she couldn't, she knew though, that she had bought herself some private time with the Doctor for the first time in ages.

The Doctor turned to her and gave her a stare. She couldn't decipher what sort of stare it was, but she wished it to have been a stare of disbelief.

She sprung from where she stood and dashed up to the Doctor. She almost grabbed his wrist, but at the last second pulled away. She received another glare for her mistake.

_For God's sake, talk to me! Stop looking at me as if I am a disease or one of the monsters you fight! _She shouted at him in her mind.

She decided that if he was going to follow her, she would have to lead on. She took a few tentative steps forward and felt motion behind her. He was following. She then tried to keep her pace steady and quiet, so that Frasier wouldn't think she was escaping to some secret backdoor.

She weaved her way through the corridors and even asked the Doctor to give her directions. Sometimes he would say "left here" or "take the next right". Though his communication to her was restricted, she enjoyed hearing his voice again.

They finally reached what seemed to be a medical bay. Well, there was a sink at least. And a possible bed, it was covered in so much paperwork, scrap pieces of paper and entire folders it was hard to tell. The walls were covered in paper statistics, cut-outs from newspapers, routes to planets and timelines. It seemed like a sort of office, where the Doctor kept his plans and information of anything he could get his hands on.

"This doesn't look like a medical bay…looks more like a war veteran's bedroom." Rose laughed. She turned to face the Doctor and saw the expression that he wore. It was a look of irritation and annoyance.

"Have I said something? What is your problem? Well, you have a few of those, but what is your problem with _me_! I haven't done anything to you…" she argued.

"You just told me my problem. But we don't have long cooped up in here, it may take them a while to find this room, so we may have a little longer than expected." The Doctor said, throwing papers from the bed and creating a small space for them both to sit in.

Sitting in that room, being around all those things pinned to the wall with staples, Rose awoke to the more serious half of the Doctor. Thoughts of him organising others and fighting were not the kind that she was used to. She had only heard the Time War mentioned a few times, and not in detail. She knew that the daleks and the Time lords had fought a vicious battle and nobody made it out alive, except the Doctor and that one, lonely Dalek back in that underground museum. It was The Dalek that she had rescued, the one that the Doctor had tried to destroy. She had seen war in his eyes whilst he stood there, ordering her out of the way. The fighting still hadn't left him, even now.

"I'm sorry, that I didn't do anything to help…that Frasier, he's just a twat, and I shouldn't have let him get me." Rose said, bowing her head and trying to stop the tears starting all over again.

The Doctor must have draped his arm around her; she felt the weight on her shoulders. She didn't want to turn her head to look at his wrist, but she made herself. The three gashes had stopped bleeding, but they looked as if they might at any moment.

She slipped away from him and grabbed his arm.

"We need to do something about these…" she began. She still couldn't believe that he had done this to himself. It wasn't like him at all.

He pulled away, covering the cuts with his sleeve again.

"No, we don't. I'm perfectly fine…" he raised his voice at her slightly, but then held his head high, breathing deeply and cast his eyes over her from the side.

"It's not your fault. Jake must have been watching us for a while, we could have cleared it all up, but this time they sent a clever copper. They used to never do that. That's technology for you. Send the most ruthless guy you've got! He still won't get us down! We'll figure out a way to remove him from our midst soon. He hasn't got many men, and they aren't exactly bright sparks are they?" the Doctor said, shaking her gently.

Rose gave a giggle and smiled widely at him. She suddenly grabbed his jacket and dragged him to the sink. She pushed his head down into it as far as he would let her.

"Clean up, you're a mess. I don't want to see you all bloody ever again, is that clear?" she ordered with a smile.

He straightened up and gave her a comprehending look. She laughed at him and was about to leave and let him get on with it when she heard a few, quick footfalls. Rookie almost knocked into her as he sped into the room. He wasn't even out of breath; they must have trained hard at the academy.

"Quick! Jake is back! They know what's out there!" he shouted at them and left at a jog without an answer.

"Just Jake is back?" Rose said to the Doctor, her eyebrows were raised. He shrugged and stood there in silence for a few seconds, before sitting down suddenly and swearing under his breath.

"They knew we were here. Rookie had followed us. That's why he only took a short run and wasn't tired. They must have some sort of comm. system to communicate with each other. I should have known, God, now Frasier knows we're going to "remove him", we're in trouble now…"

Rose took in a sharp breath and ran after Rookie, forcing her legs to move faster. She had to catch up with him before he reported back. She willed herself to move, to speed up. She could see Rookie ahead, but every corner that she turned, she lost speed. Rookie was beating her to the control room.

He had reached it before her, but as soon as he stopped in front, she caught him up and almost fell right into him. He caught her as she hurtled past him and almost embraced her for a moment before she pulled away. She had to be wary of him; she could tell he didn't just protect her out of whim. There was something going on in that immature head of his that she didn't like.

As soon as Frasier caught sight of her, he let go of a rather battered looking Jake and stormed towards her, a whirlwind of anger.

"Simm is missing! Your boyfriend knew what was out there! He let me send one of best men into that…that place!" he shouted at her. He reached out to grab her, but withdrew when he spotted the Doctor standing in the doorway to the right of them.

"You…I'll kill ya!" Frasier roared at the Doctor.

"What are you complaining about now, talk about a problem passenger…" the Doctor rolled his eyes and winked at Rose.

Frasier suddenly ran at the Doctor and pinned him to the wall, pressing him into it slowly with his whole arm.

"You knew what was out there didn't ya? You wanted to kill off my men one by one and then have a shot at me, eh? Was that your smart plan?" he yelled at him.

"Your good man Rookie pulled through in the end then?" the Doctor gave a sly smirk and laughed quietly, though was quickly silenced by being pushed up the wall. It seemed strength came with Frasier's height as an additional advantage.

"You are going to go and find Simm for me…" Frasier hissed.

"No! There are crocodiles out there!" Jake exclaimed, he was standing near the door and was restlessly looking out of the two small windows.

"Florida! We're in Florida! Loads of crocs, I've always wanted to go to Disneyland!" the Doctor said across the room to Jake.

"No, two legged crocodiles! They walk upright!" Jake replied, staring out of the window again.

"Cretaceous period! 65 million years BC! Dinosaurs, fantastic animals!" the Doctor suggested again.

"No, they wear clothes and hold weapons! They chased us, shouting something in a sort of fish language, I ran back here, but Simm obviously didn't make it. He might still be lost out there!" Jake said, quivering and twitching as he recalled the creatures.

The Doctor ran out of ideas. He could think of several reptilian species, but he had one more question to ask.

"Out there, what's it like? Jungle? A Desert? A barren wasteland? Urban cities? There must be some sort of terrain out there!" he asked.

"It looks like…the Lake District, but with more lakes…very British." Jake answered; he risked a glance out of the window one more time before going to sit down.

Frasier sneered and impatiently tapped his foot. He turned to the Doctor and stared at him long and hard.

"You will go and get Simm. He had better be alive." He said finally. He released his grip on the Doctor's coat and grabbed at Rose. She cried out and struggled against his strong arms. He pulled out his gun and laid it to rest on the side of Rose's head above her ear.

"And if you don't go, or if he's not alive, I'm going to kill her. She'll bleed nice and slow, you might even be able to join her if you slit your wrists again!" Frasier said, lowering the barrel of his gun to point it at Rose's stomach.

"Don't worry, I'll only hit a few vital organs from this distance." He added. Rose tried to pull away, but he dragged her closer to his body.

"Just go, Doctor, go and get that Simm guy, forget about me, I'll be fine! I'm a hostage…I'm not fine…hurry back!" she yelled at him before being silenced by Frasier's hand, placed across her mouth.

The Doctor nodded silently at Rose and gave one final glare to Frasier. Rose could feel the heat from his anger behind her eyes from where, even she, was standing.

He crossed the room slowly, mocking Frasier's impatience, and threw open the door. Jake jumped, but everyone else was locked to the spot. The Doctor saluted Rose and jumped outside.

It was very much like the Lake District. Great, green rolling hills, a sea of long grass, an occasional tree and several lakes were scattered across the landscape. To the Doctor's right, though, he saw a forest, the kind that completely plunged into darkness as soon as you walk a few yards into it.

The Doctor rolled his eyes in a bored sort of way and began to make his way towards the trees. They were knurled and filled with knots, grey in colour and the bark had been stripped from half of them.

"I'm not impressed with the gardening, maybe the fauna will prove me wrong…" the Doctor said to himself.

He touched one of the trees and stoked one of its lower branches. Dead bark flaked and came away in his hands much like lifeless skin. He moved on to a different tree. This one had had its branches completely removed, leaving empty sockets where the arms used to be. The trees seemed to share a lot of qualities with a certain species that he had encountered countless times before. They seemed terribly…Human.


	3. Down and out

For the love of all things good, how long have I left this story hanging? Yikes, I am very sorry, so my good reviewers and readers, here is the next chapter. It's a little rushed, as I wrote the last two pages hurriedly last night!

**Disclaimer:** Do you want another one? Well here it is anyway, the almighty BBC owns Doctor 'oo and I do not. The lizard creatures and the OCs are mine though:D

The Lake at Tachmoore

The Doctor began a brisk walk past the trees that lay either side of him. There was a sudden calming breeze rising and drifting past him, keeping the sun's rays from beating down upon him with its heat. The Doctor glanced about lazily with a stupid looking grin of satisfaction on his face. The thick trees were blanked out and even the ground beneath him began to dissolve. The dead leaves he trod on were melting into each other and as he looked up through the leaves above him, he only just noticed they were merging in a similar way.

He didn't mind, it was nice to have blended colours around him. He laughed aloud and kicked up a few of the leaves. They gently rose in the air, but came down with a clang rather heavily. The Doctor laughed again.

The sheer experience seemed to lift his spirits and everything he had ever been through, not just the recent past events, were melting away like the colours that drained from the surroundings.

The Doctor suddenly lost his footing and fell to the floor. The fun was over now though, the fall had hurt him, but he couldn't locate the injury. His eyes were blurred and he could feel his eyelids slipping. Images rushed around in his restricted line of vision. Quick flashes of dark greens…or was it browns? He couldn't even see colours. They had turned black and white. Dark grey shapes then, were moving closer, drawing him closer. Everything was a mass of shapes and sharp movement.

The Doctor suddenly felt a sharp pang of pain in his shoulder, in his leg, across his stomach. Then there was nothing. No pain, no colours, no dark shapes. There was nothing to separate light from dark, colour from tone and life from death.

…………………………………………………..

Rose couldn't help but tighten her jaw as Frasier rested his gun against her head. The metal was hard against her scalp, but her hair kept it from feeling cold at least. She stared icily at Rookie and Jake. She didn't bother to even look at the other two that remained in the room. She didn't even know their names. Her judgement got the better of her, and she glanced at them, looking them up and down, locating where their weapons were and she thought about their speed and strength capabilities. Would they catch her if she escaped and ran? Would they just shoot her down? Would they do nothing until ordered?

Frasier noticed that she seemed intrigued by the last two men that he had brought in with him. He now felt that both of them were unnecessary, as the two criminals were so easy to subdue and bring down, but still he had brought them along for the ride, just in case their numbers were thinned by different means.

"Seen my little mates have ya? They'd rather kill ya than get to know ya, so don't bother tryin' to get them on yer side, it won't work, gottit?" he hissed in her ear.

Rose almost dared to roll her eyes, though she was sure that her captor would become incandescent with rage.

"Fylde and Goldell, keep an eye on Blondie, and keep your guns on the girl, I'm going to try and locate some sort of house or village out there. If she moves, shoot 'er, if he moves, throw him outside and I'll deal with him." Frasier addressed them both. They nodded silently and pulled their guns from their holsters.

"Rookie, you come with me, I'll need backup if necessary, though I doubt you'd be much use." Frasier added to Rookie, a cold gleam in his eye.

Rookie saluted his fellow officers and placed himself behind Frasier, his hand on his gun.

Fylde was a younger officer with a square jaw and short hair, it seemed to almost cling to his head for dear life, and Rose thought he'd be a much more handsome man if he let it grow a little longer.

Goldell on the other hand, was in his mid-forties, but he had a full head of hair. It was obviously dyed, but Rose didn't mind it that way. His face looked young as well; his frame was slim yet muscular. She wouldn't place him a day over thirty years old. His looks reminded her of Jack Harkness.

She suddenly turned her head away; she didn't want to think about him. For all she knew he could be dead. He could still be dead, lying in Satellite Five. She was sure he had escaped though, but she and the Doctor hadn't heard from him since.

Jake was grabbed by Fylde and thrown roughly onto the floor. The expression on his face told Rose that this was not the way he wanted to be treated. She wanted to hate him, but her interpretation of hate sat on a whole new level now, as she was at the forefront of Frasier's despise list.

Frasier grinned at Jake and as he walked past him, kicking him for good measure. He strode towards the door and when he reached it, turned and seemed to survey his new kingdom. Sighing with satisfaction at the thought of everything leaning towards his favour, he grabbed the handle of the door, ripped it open and left, Rookie stepped outside before the door slammed shut behind them.

Rose knew that just because her favourite person had decided to disappear, the atmosphere would not relax.

She turned her head to look towards the door and a faint "click" rang through the control room. _I have to get out of here…_she thought. But where would she go? Who would she turn to? She even doubted the Doctor's capabilities. She hated to know it, but he was only mortal. After all that time and she thought he could outwit, outrun and outlive anything. She was wrong. Oh how wrong she was.

He had shown a new light inside him to her, a light that could never be snuffed out. Could she ever look at him in the same way?

The sound of his blood hitting the floor rung in her head, and she couldn't block it out.

She dropped to her knees. She heard the two men scuffle and scrape over to her, their heavy boots dragging along the grating.

"I'm fine!" she shouted at them. She didn't want them any closer than they were. The scraping stopped, but she could feel them standing there, wavering on her every word, unsure of what to do.

She drowned them out with the screams sounding inside her head. Rookie made to move towards her, but she gave him a warning glare and he backed away with his palms facing her.

She wanted them to go, willed them to leave her alone. But no, they had their duties. It was to interfere and get in the way, to prevent things they didn't understand.

There was nothing that she could do about that. She just needed to sit it through like a "good little girl". She hated being alone, even Jake, who seemed to be her double in this scene, couldn't make her feel better. Rookie just stood by and let it be.

BANG!

"What the hell was that?" shouted Fylde. Goldell shrugged at him and spun on his heel, trying to locate the source of the noise or assess the damage. Rookie bent over Rose and offered her his hand. _Take it, Rose, you need all the help you can get. _She grabbed his arm and pulled herself up without thanking him.

"You're welcome." He muttered, rubbing his wrists where she had grasped him.

BANG!

The sound, this time, echoed louder still, ringing in Rose's ears, she staggered to Fylde. He had whipped his gun out of its holster, and was spinning in a circle, his gun pointing to the walls.

"It's something outside…something wants to get in…" Rose whispered. She strained her ears for another bang from the outside, but with Jake panicking and Fylde and Goldell shouting for the enemy to reveal its ugly form, it was a struggle.

There was a silence. Fylde and Goldell had finished shouting and Jake curled up into a protective ball. Rose saw a shadow dance across the small windows fitted into the Tardis door. She rushed towards it and pressed her hands against the window, squinting outside. The glare of the sun shone into her eyes and she pulled away. _Was it just my mind? No. It never is. Everything is to be suspected. No time for dismissing things anymore. Everything is an enemy…_Everything is an enemy? That wasn't Rose talking, she didn't want to know what _was _talking, but she didn't like the sound of its voice.

Rose rushed back to Goldell standing behind her and grabbed his shirt, tugging on it roughly.

"I need to go outside! There is something out there and it might want to talk to us!" she yelled, desperately pulling his shirt.

"Hell no, girly! You open that door and your terrorist mates will come swarming in here! You stay, we all stay. That door doesn't open." He shouted back at her, pushing her back into one of the structures protruding from the floor of the Tardis.

The small of her back was hurting, but she blinked back the pain. So he thought that was terrorists out there? Whatever out there would give them all terror if she didn't try and find the Doctor. He could talk anything down. She could escape the Tardis, her prison, and find him at the right time, between bangs.

BANG!

There it went again. It was louder, this time sending a shockwave across the floor. Rose could feel the jolt as the something hit the Tardis. Goldell wobbled where he stood and Fylde held up his gun, though what help that would do, Rose didn't know.

She had to think fast, preferably faster than anyone else. Fylde had now placed himself squarely in front of the door. Helpful…what a great way to sort out the problem, block the door…

"Fylde! There's something coming down the corridor!" she suddenly squeaked, pointing and hopping on the spot, pretending to be panicking.

He fell for it. He rushed towards the entrance of the corridor and held his gun out at shoulder height.

_Go on…go down there…_Rose willed him to take a few steps forward and then venture down the corridor.

"Goldell, you had better go with him, I don't want him getting hurt by the monsters!" God, it was disgusting, acting like the damsel in distress, but it worked its magic on Goldell too.

"Don't worry Girlie, we'll sort it all out for you." He stated and he strolled off down the corridor, following Fylde.

Rose had to contain her excitement for now, just wait until the Doctor heard about this! She had just outwitted two police officers by just _asking _them to go away!

She waited a few seconds, in case the both of them heard her open the door. When she had made sure they were at least a few floors up or down, she leapt over Jake huddled on the floor and sprang over to the door, her heart racing.

Thrusting open the door, she took her first look at where they had landed.

_Lake District…_she concluded. She circled the Tardis several times, but there was no sign of what was banging against it…perhaps it was better that it had gone; she had a Doctor to search for.

Rose studied the surroundings with a keen eye for detail. She noticed the same things the Doctor did; the huge lakes, the rolling grassy knolls and the forest. Such odd trees, they were so grotesque, yet sad. They were so very sad, Rose could here the knots and twists in the wood screeching for help. She took a quick jog towards them and skidded to a halt. She reached out and stroked a branch; the poor things must be in pain. She let her hand run over the smooth and exposed white wood. She smiled to herself, wondering if the Doctor had been here lately.

It really was beautiful here, she loved the trees, they were perfect, and even the blazing sun was cool and fresh.

God, there was nothing to it, just keep walking! The light filtering through the trees, kicking up the leaves, spinning on the spot laughing…

Rose felt a sudden prang of fear. There was nothing lovely here, it was all a sick illusion, but her eyes had a different opinion. It was beautiful, but she knew the dark secret behind it all. Disgusting, that was what it was. A horrific amalgamation of hideous ideas sprung from someone's mind.

But it was beautiful! A treat for the eyes!

No, it was awful…Rose felt sudden overwhelmed with fatigue…but how could that be? She wasn't tired; she hadn't even done any physical work today.

What the Hell? This was weird, no colour vision now? Rose laughed with fear, tears rolling down her cheeks like droplets of rain down a glass window pane.

Dark grey shapes approached, they were clutching sticks in their hands, they seemed to be pointing at her, but that can't be, Rose was no threat.

She had to yell in pain as there was a sickening _thwack _and there was pain running around her stomach like a wild thing. She heard a _slap _and there was another surge of pain rushing up her shin.

There was a sudden sensation of being dragged across the floor. She _was_ being dragged along the floor; she could just about see the trees receding into the distance.

Rose thought strange thoughts, mostly jumbled up ideas that she had picked up over the day. She couldn't do a thing with them. She just let them float across her vision. It was really quite nice, she thought things that she would never _dream _of considering before…like, for example, the Doctor. What would he think about all this? Would he rescue her? Did he like her still? Did he even _love _her?

Too far. The visions stopped and so did her movement. Rose found herself staring up into two, pale yellow eyes.

……………………………………………….

Fylde stopped in his tracks. How long had he been walking? That calculated to how many minutes he had believed the girl. He spun round and was nose to nose with Goldell.

"What are you doing?" Goldell asked, remaining extremely passive.

"God knows…the girl lied to us…we'd better go back in case…Oh shit…" Fylde shoved Goldell against the wall as he ran past, just to get a little speed boost from throwing his weight behind him.

He pushed his muscles to the limit, forcing the speed through him. Being shorter than Goldell and Frasier, he was slightly speedier.

He reached the control room far too late. Jake was still there, looking more bored than anything else, leaning against one of the structures.

"Is it too much to ask for some service around here?" he asked with his head raised and his eyebrows almost at his hairline.

"Not now, where's the girl?" Fylde asked, much quieter than he wanted.

"She took off about three minutes ago. Why? Wasn't she allowed to go and get some fresh air?" Jake replied, his tone sarcastic.

"Oh for…" Fylde resisted swearing in front of Jake; instead he ran to the door and shoved it open.

"Christ…" he muttered before being thrown back into the Tardis. He struck the wall on the other side and lay in a heap, unmoving.

Jake dropped his act and seemed genuinely concerned for Fylde, but he was even more curious as to what had thrown him so far with such force…had he been shot? Was that it?

Whatever had chucked Fylde across the room was not to be messed with, he decided, and he sneaked away without a word or a sound.

Goldell however, being rather annoyed with his fellow officer's actions and with being suddenly thrust into a wall face first, was still around to battle for the Tardis.

He strode into the control room with a face like thunder, but upon entering, did not discover Jake and Fylde halfway through a tea party, but a gang of…dinosaurs? Or were they crocodiles? God knows what the bastards were, he didn't like the look of them, and to see one with its claws gripping into Jake's shoulders enraged him even more. Jake was _his_ prisoner.

"Show me two and ten gentlemen!" he commanded; his gun suddenly in his hand, the catch clicked back.

The creatures gathered in the control room looked up as his voice rang through the Tardis. They clicked their tongues and rolled their eyes.

"I said two and ten!" Goldell tried again. His eyes darted from one creature to another, until he had scanned all five of the loathsome things.

Suddenly, one of them moved and Goldell's gun whipped round, aiming now at the creature's snout.

"Oh, look, it's armed…" the creature sighed, it rolled its tan coloured eyes and the white film was appearing at the lip.

"The Hell? You talk?" Goldell said, taking an astonished step backwards, his eyes wide.

"Of course we talk, what do you think we are? _Mammals?_" the creature said, poking Goldell in the chest with one of its clawed fingers.

"Mammals?" Goldell repeated. It took a while to click. _Don't say it; they obviously think mammals as lower beings…_a thought flittering past told him.

He coughed quietly, acting as if he had never heard the response and had never questioned the thought of mammals losing their ability to communicate.

Jake winced as the claws wedged into his shoulder suddenly snapped into another position, wrenching his skin.

"I'm going to have to ask you to release the boy slowly." Goldell said, his aim trained on the creature that had spoken to him before.

"Ha! I don't think so, buddy…" the creature hissed, a forked tongue slithering from its mouth.

Its gang hissed in unison, Goldell mentally suggested that it was some sort of laughter, though they could have been talking amongst themselves, it was so hard to tell.

What the Hell? He was thinking about these things as if it were just understanding a foreigner, these were…hybrids! Aliens! Monsters! The possibilities were endless, as were their destructive power, what were these things capable of?

"We'd like to…invite…you to our humble settlement, we believe that you three may be able to shed some light on our first three guests, a young male, brown feathers, young female, yellow feathers, and one with little feathers left, I'd think that he is your elder?" the creature spoke again, it had a light amusement in its face, it was pleased about something.

"Feathers?" Goldell repeated stupidly again, though he glanced up at his own, black hair.

"Oh…right, feathers, I get you." Goldell said, upon his own accord. He had just answered his own question.

"Will you care to bring your fallen colleague, or will we have to drag him behind us like the others we stumbled upon?" the creature asked politely. Goldell knew that the "stumbling upon" was no accident, and that "stumbling" was a bit of an understatement, _more like attack._

"I'll carry him, let go of my friend here and we can take him together." Goldell replied.

"Is this a hint of teamwork? Do they hunt in packs?" one of the creatures said with an excited squeak.

"Quieten down, back there, these beings are cleverer than we first predicted…" muttered the first creature.

Goldell silently acknowledged the poor extent of information that these things held about Humans,_ at least they don't know the weaknesses, and they don't know the strengths either, play it up, Goldell, _the voice in his head told him.

Jake was released, and before he could collapse into a shivering heap of nothing on the floor, Goldell caught his arm, pulling him roughly to his feet. Jake didn't make a sound, and Goldell quickly indicated to him to grasp Fylde under his arms, whilst he grabbed his legs.

They hauled Fylde up in one motion and carried him to the door. A creature scuttled towards them, claws clicking across the metal grating, and opened the double doors for them.

Light poured in again, and Goldell narrowed his eyes as he guided Jake outside into the open.

They paused, waiting for the other lizards to file out, and after the fifth had finally stepped over the threshold, they moved on again.

Fylde was growing heavier and heavier. Jake was struggling and desperate for a break, and even Goldell was tiring.

The surroundings changed rapidly from boring, rolling hills, long grass and sparkling lakes, to sinister woods, dead trees with peeling bark and a menacing, creeping atmosphere.

Everything fell silent. Even treading on the ground was without noise. It was as if Goldell had suddenly become deaf. Jake glanced about with sharp, bird-like movements. The lizards had split themselves, with the leader and its accomplice at the front, and the other three keeping everything in line behind Jake.

The walk was long and eerie. The trail was covered in leaves, leaves that didn't crunch underfoot, but they were ragged, torn and rotten. Goldell's vision was suddenly blurred and flickering. He looked over at Jake, and he looked as if he were about to fall asleep as he walked.

One of the tailing creatures jabbed Jake in the back.

"Keep walking! It's only the fumes from the trees! They're breeding again, snap out of it, we're almost there." It said, hammering its fist on Jake's head for good measure.

Jake's head lolled, but he kept it together, facing forward with his eyes almost pinned open.

Goldell shook his head, and the drowsiness cleared for a few seconds before returning, this time worse.

Suddenly, the leader of the mismatched group halted. Goldell ceased walking, glad of the pause.

"Set the sleeping pack member on the ground." The leader ordered calmly. Not wanting to waste time, Goldell almost dropped Fylde's legs, Jake following suit.

Goldell glanced up again, this time he saw a clearing. Seven huge poles stood in a semi-circle a few metres apart from each other in the centre. Goldell noticed that, each tied to a pole, the Doctor, the blonde girl, Frasier and Rookie were unconscious with their heads drooped. He didn't have to think twice as to why the next three poles were unoccupied.

There was a sickening _thwack _and Jake was down and out for the count.

"Just one left? Want to do the honours, Traputa?" asked the leader of the creatures, nodding his head at a small and slight female. She shook her head and turned away.

"Very well, but you had better allow your killing streak though if you are to be my wife." said the leader with a hiss. He snatched the club that had battered Jake and without hesitation, brought it down on Goldell.

The last thoughts floating through Goldell's head before he slipped into unconsciousness were muddled, but they sounded a little like, _I hope the Doctor screws over these scaly bastards…_


End file.
